What states are PIP states?

You will need personal injury protection (PIP) insurance if you live in one of the 12 states that require it. Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Utah all require PIP insurance. You may also need PIP if your health insurance has low coverage limits or if you drive with passengers who could hold you responsible for their medical expenses in the event of an accident.… read full answer

In the 20 states (plus Washington, D.C.) where it is required or offered as optional protection, PIP covers medical expenses for the policyholder and his or her passengers after an accident, no matter who was at fault. However, PIP is not available at all in the 30 other states.

Always check with your insurance company or an agent for specifics on what coverage is required or available in your state before you determine what to include in your policy.

What Does PIP Cover?

• Ambulance fees
• Health insurance deductibles
• Medical treatments
• Surgery
• Rehabilitation
• Prescriptions
• Lost wages
• Home care such as cleaning or child care
• Funeral costs

If you are in a car accident, PIP often works in conjunction with your health insurance coverage. Most health insurance deductibles must be paid before benefits start to be paid out, but your PIP may have a cheaper deductible, or no deductible at all.

How Does PIP Work With MedPay?

PIP insurance may overlap with another kind of car insurance known as Medical Payments, or MedPay. Like PIP, MedPay covers the costs of medical care resulting from of an accident, no matter who was at fault. Also like PIP, MedPay covers injuries to any passengers in your car. However, it does not pay for lost wages, rehabilitation or home-care services, which PIP would cover.

The way PIP and MedPay may work together depends on your state’s laws. If you live in one of the 12 states that require PIP, MedPay could be redundant. State limits on PIP vary widely, from $3,000 in Utah to New York’s $50,000 requirement. If your state has a low upper limit on PIP, MedPay coverage could act as a beneficial supplement. In a couple states – namely, Maine and New Hampshire – MedPay is used instead of PIP.

No, California is not a no-fault state for auto insurance. California is one of the 38 states in the country where the person who causes a car accident has to pay for the damage and injuries. When an accident occurs, the police determine who’s at fault. Then, to collect payment for their losses, victims must file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Liability insurance is the type of insurance that pays victims’ claims, and all drivers in California are required to carry it.… read full answer

Although you’re not required to carry any other kind of car insurance in California, you may want to protect yourself in case of an accident, too. For example, if you are at fault in a crash, your car can be covered by collision insurance. Medical payments coverage can pay your medical bills.

In a no-fault state, each driver in an accident is responsible for covering their own losses through their insurance company. No one needs to prove who caused the accident to be covered. These states have different types of mandatory insurance, such as personal injury protection, which covers medical bills, costs related to medical care like transportation expenses, and lost wages.

Because of the required personal injury protection, or PIP, drivers in most no-fault states – like Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York – pay more for their insurance than California residents. Being a “fault” state helps keep California around the middle of the state rankings for insurance costs.

Florida car insurance laws require everyone who registers a car in the state to carry at least $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) and $10,000 of property damage liability (PDL). This is not much coverage. In fact, Florida has the lowest insurance requirements in the U.S. (except for New Hampshire, which requires no insurance).… read full answer

In addition to all cars registered in Florida, Florida’s car insurance laws apply to any car that is driven in the state for more than 90 days in a 12-month period. This means Florida’s large seasonal population must meet Florida’s insurance requirements as well. Seasonal residents often need to add PIP to their out-of-state policies, since this type of insurance is only required in 12 no-fault states. Residents of the few states with lower mandatory PDL limits also may need additional property damage liability coverage to drive legally in Florida.

As a “no-fault” state, Florida requires its drivers to carry PIP insurance to pay their own medical expenses, no matter who causes an accident. However, it doesn’t require bodily injury liability—the insurance that pays for the other party’s injuries.

Florida’s no-fault law is limited, though. “Fault” becomes an issue in Florida when injuries are permanent or serious (costing over $10,000 in medical bills and/or lost income). In these cases, victims can sue the at-fault driver. To ensure victims can be paid, the at-fault driver in an accident has to provide proof of “financial responsibility.” The most common proof is bodily injury liability insurance. Drivers also have the option of posting a bond of up to $20,000.

Property damage liability insurance pays for damages a driver causes to other people's property in a crash. The damage can be to cars or other property such as fences or buildings. Florida’s PDL requirements are also relatively low. Most states require higher minimum limits, although there are some that require $10,000 like Florida and four that require only $5,000—California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.